Zur funktionellen Organisation des antennalen und olfaktorischen Systems der Arbeiterin der Honigbiene, Apis mellifera L

Abstract

The mechanisms of olfactory information processing have been reviewed for the poreplate receptors and antennal lobe structures in worker honeybees. A new concept arises from recent electrophysiological research on the poreplates of the antenna in which it has been shown that the receptor cells within poreplates interact with each other in various ways (Akers and Getz, 1992). There seems to be no distinct receptor cell classes with different odor spectra as previous research had indicated (Vareschi, 1971). Thus it has to be assumed that the input into the antennal lobe already consist of 'preprocessed' information on the olfactory environment of the insect.Recent anatomical and physiological research data on the antennal lobe are discussed under the aspect of the functional organization of this glomerular structure. There is evidence that the information processing within the antennal lobe occurs in a complex interglomerular circuitry. The antennal lobe of the honeybee is compared to that of other insects for which detailed data exist (table I). A high degree of multimodality of antennal lobe neurons is postulated for the honeybee because of the various inputs it receives apart from the antennal inputs. Multimodality of output neurons is known to exist (Homberg, 1984, table II).A schematic diagram summarizes the various parts of the brain of the worker bee involved in olfactory information processing. The ability of honeybee workers to learn and discriminate specific odors and odor mixtures might be greatly influenced by its motivational internal disposition.